Jazz Ensemble and Alumni Concert
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation department at the University of Michigan. To celebrate, a number of musical activities have been taking place all month,including panel discussions, visiting artists, masterclass, theme semester collaborations, faculty recitals, and performance showcases. Last week, the Jazz Ensemble and Alumni Concert performed in the Rackham Auditorium. Jazz ensemble is a required class for concentrators, divided into two sections: Jazz Lab Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble.
The first half of the performance showcased the “Lab.” They performed seven pieces; some original, some classic, some arranged by faculty, and some written by department alumni. Two of the songs featured vocals. The last piece performed before the intermission was my favorite. It takes a lot of breath to shine amidst the carries of thirty brass instruments!
Following the break, the Jazz Ensemble collected onstage and performed six arrangements. Two were written by faculty Andrew Bishop and Ellen Rowe (director of the department, who also conducted), and two were written by alumni. It just so happens that the latter were my favorite pieces of the evening.”Leaving Paris,” by David Luther (a very fine name for a jazz composer, don’t you think?) was the kind of music you’d want to hear on a rainy day. It was slow but varied; I felt the emotion in the rhythm very richly. “May Morning Dew,” by Tyler Duncan, was an adventurous and non-traditional piece. The notes drew from an ancient Irish folk song and included the recoded voice of a man singing the archaic tune. Tyler Duncan played the F Flute, which apparently he used when he auditioned for the school though it had never been done before. An experimental artist, you may recognize Tyler’s name from local Ann Arbor band My Dear Disco, which he helped create and toured with in the years following graduation.
The performance was an exciting exposition of student work, both past and present. The energetic music certainly celebrated this momentous anniversary that this year marks. I loved attending, but after the show had to quickly race back to the library to study for finals. Good luck everyone!
